Railway Pension Investments Ltd Grows Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 85.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,860,110 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 855,755 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $78,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth $49,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at $27,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $40.42 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.